On August 22, 2026, at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, the hosts secured a come-from-behind victory over Stoke City with a 3-1 win in their Championship Round 2 fixture. The referee blew the starting whistle at 17:00 Moscow time, and just 8 minutes in, Kyle Larin opened the scoring, finishing from Flynn Downes' left-wing cross with a powerful strike into the near post that left the Stoke goalkeeper with no chance. Southampton started confidently, but their joy was tempered by James Bree's yellow card in the 19th minute. Stoke City fought back and equalised in the 27th minute: Ethan Galbraith found the net with a precise finish into the far corner after a pass from Sam Gallagher, making it 1-1. As the first half drew to a close, Gallagher received a yellow card in the 38th minute. The second half began with tense play: Downes was booked in the 50th minute, followed by Ryan Manning's yellow card in the 53rd. Galbraith was shown a yellow card for a foul in the 62nd minute. Stoke attempted to seize control, but Southampton's defense, led by Taylor Harwood-Bellis, remained solid. In the 82nd minute, Maksym Talovyerov was shown a yellow card, and in the 86th minute, Svante Ingelsson received two consecutive yellow cards and was sent off, leaving the visitors with ten men. Southampton capitalized on this advantage: in the 89th minute, Divin Mubama fired home from inside the box after a pass from Finn Azaz, making it 2-1. Then, in stoppage time at 90+4, Ryan Manning sealed the victory with a third goal, completing the comeback. Match statistics: Southampton had 54% possession, recorded 14 shots on goal compared to Stoke's 9, and completed 79% of their passes against Stoke's 73%. This comeback victory gave Southampton six points from their opening two rounds, establishing themselves in the upper half of the Championship table. Stoke City, after Ingelsson's red card, lost their rhythm and couldn't hold onto the draw, a valuable lesson for the team. Southampton's manager praised his players for their character and ability to push through to the end, noting that the team showed maturity and readiness to compete for the highest goals this season.

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